Intuition, the Accimap, and the question “why?” Identifying and classifying higher-order factors contributing to road traffic collisions
Intuition, the Accimap, and the question “why?” Identifying and classifying higher-order factors contributing to road traffic collisions
Although the physical and environmental factors contributing to road traffic collisions are often the most straightforward to identify, they may not necessarily be the most useful in terms of guiding road safety intervention design. From a sociotechnical systems perspective, it is the higher system factors that, if addressed, would provide the widest-reaching benefits to system outcomes. That said, the identification of these higher-order factors often requires a level of intuition or imagination; they are not always objectively obvious given the facts of a particular case. Here, we argue for the use of the Accimap approach to accident (or collision) analysis, supplemented with a modified version of the five whys causal analysis technique, for the support and structuring of this intuiting process. We use an analysis of a fatal motorcycle collision to illustrate how coroners in the United Kingdom could be supported in their task of identifying and summarizing factors in accordance with the levels of the Accimap, and according to a categorization scheme indicating how abstract those factors are (i.e., immediate, proximal, or distal). Our analysis identified 21 immediate, 12 proximal, and 33 distal factors contributing to the collision. It is these distal factors that are most likely to lead to longer-term road safety improvements.
Accimap, collision database, contributory factors, sociotechnical system, traffic safety
546-558
McIlroy, Rich C.
68e56daa-5b0b-477e-a643-3c7b78c1b85d
Plant, Katherine L.
3638555a-f2ca-4539-962c-422686518a78
Stanton, Neville A.
351a44ab-09a0-422a-a738-01df1fe0fadd
7 May 2021
McIlroy, Rich C.
68e56daa-5b0b-477e-a643-3c7b78c1b85d
Plant, Katherine L.
3638555a-f2ca-4539-962c-422686518a78
Stanton, Neville A.
351a44ab-09a0-422a-a738-01df1fe0fadd
McIlroy, Rich C., Plant, Katherine L. and Stanton, Neville A.
(2021)
Intuition, the Accimap, and the question “why?” Identifying and classifying higher-order factors contributing to road traffic collisions.
Human Factors and Ergonomics In Manufacturing, 31 (5), .
(doi:10.1002/hfm.20902).
Abstract
Although the physical and environmental factors contributing to road traffic collisions are often the most straightforward to identify, they may not necessarily be the most useful in terms of guiding road safety intervention design. From a sociotechnical systems perspective, it is the higher system factors that, if addressed, would provide the widest-reaching benefits to system outcomes. That said, the identification of these higher-order factors often requires a level of intuition or imagination; they are not always objectively obvious given the facts of a particular case. Here, we argue for the use of the Accimap approach to accident (or collision) analysis, supplemented with a modified version of the five whys causal analysis technique, for the support and structuring of this intuiting process. We use an analysis of a fatal motorcycle collision to illustrate how coroners in the United Kingdom could be supported in their task of identifying and summarizing factors in accordance with the levels of the Accimap, and according to a categorization scheme indicating how abstract those factors are (i.e., immediate, proximal, or distal). Our analysis identified 21 immediate, 12 proximal, and 33 distal factors contributing to the collision. It is these distal factors that are most likely to lead to longer-term road safety improvements.
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 3 March 2021
Published date: 7 May 2021
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
This study was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR; 16/137/122) using UK aid from the UK Government to support global health research. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the UK Department of Health and Social Care.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries published by Wiley Periodicals LLC
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Accimap, collision database, contributory factors, sociotechnical system, traffic safety
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 451161
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/451161
ISSN: 1090-8471
PURE UUID: 5f5184c3-759b-4e3b-9ad9-ba32e1e60f03
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Date deposited: 14 Sep 2021 15:31
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 03:41
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